Teaching synchronously online? Frustrated by the lack of student engagement? I've heard from a lot of folks who are grappling with this right now. A thread with some quick tips (1/x)

1st, please know that it's unlikely that this is a signal that students are not interested. More likely: it is just easier to remain anonymous and to fall into what psychologists sometimes call the "diffusion of responsibility," where we think someone else will do the work. (2/x)

Use breakout rooms to your advantage rather than trying to manage a whole group discussion. Give them a meaningful question/activity/problem and then break them randomly into groups *with an understanding that groups will need to report back*. (3/x)

Use some sort of polling tool. Zoom has one of these (clunky though it may be), but there are many. Ask a question, watch the anonymous responses roll in, and then ask those who voted a certain way to comment on their answer if they'd like. (4/x)

There are many other kinds of questions you can use as follow-ups to polls too. @derekbruff is my go-to source for these. The larger point is that there is a way to build momentum for a discussion by having students answer anonymously first. (5/x)

Ask students to bring in questions related to the topic & to post them in the chat. Lead a discussion by choosing some of these questions & asking the student who submitted it to comment & go from there. Because their curiosity is primed, they're more likely to contribute. (6/x)

In short: don't despair! This is a difficult format, but there are ways to draw students in.

**For those who will say that asynchronous is better anyway, I'm noting your comment in advance. I'm trying to help the folks who are already in the weeds.** (7/x)